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fluent design

The tech industry is an ever-changing landscape, requiring those of us in the field to keep up with both trends and technology, pushing the envelope on user experience, creating cutting-edge user interfaces, and keeping imagery fresh and on-trend.

Tech companies can make all the difference in the creation of new environments by designing and providing hardware and software for developers and designers to use in creating the next phase of design trends.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Microsoft’s Fluent Design System–formerly known as Project Neon. According to Microsoft, their “Fluent Design System will deliver intuitive, harmonious, responsive, and inclusive cross-device experiences and interactions. For developers, Fluent Design is built to help users create more expressive and engaging apps that work across a wide range of device and input diversity.”

Coming in the fall of 2017, Windows will begin implementing the Fluent Design System enhancements in its Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Here’s a brief rundown on what we can look forward to.

With an elegant user experience and interface, the update incorporates what Microsoft calls “Building Blocks” or foundational elements that will make designs perform beautifully across devices, inputs, and dimensions.

Light

Using the metaphor of windows, Microsoft takes advantage of using light to cue users to navigate and explore. Rollover and depressed states move naturally with the light and help users get to where they want to go.

Depth

Dive into the interface instead of just clicking… information is related on multiple levels and is explorable in more organic ways.

Motion

Using motion with seamless transitions helps users focus on the content as well as the experience.

Material

The real world is full of sensory experiences. By incorporating the qualities of bending, stretching, bouncing, etc., users will want to reach out and experience the designs in digital environments that seem real.

Scale

2D design is the industry standard. But scaling up to 3D and beyond is a thrilling prospect for creating fresh experiences for the user.